The Emir
The Emir is an Arabian lord who appears in Stronghold Crusader and Stronghold Crusader Extreme. The Emir is a reasonably tough opponent who appears in a number of missions in the Stronghold Crusader Warchest Skirmish Trail both as an ally and an opponent. The Emir is also available for custom skirmishes. Personality The Emir is an economist who likes sending armies after one another in battle. He can do this because of his economic prowess, however he does still complain about his economy, implying that he is a bit of a perfectionist. He also complains about not having much skill on the battlefield, which further emphasises this. He is a relatively easy-going lord, much like the Sultan. He jokingly taunts the player before attacking, and is much less serious in tone than Saladin. He remains calm when under siege, and when besieged by an overwhelming force, he retains his easy-going attitude and is not afraid of death. The Emir is also kind to his people, allowing his workers some free time to enjoy visiting the recreational areas he has created his castle. As a result his people like him and his soldiers will have excellent morale enabling them to fight very well. Castles and Strategies Economy The Emir runs a very large and productive economy, which is almost identical to that of Saladin. Like him, he gathers all raw materials in good quantities and constructs numerous apple orchards, wheat farms and hops farms. He builds inns and breweries to supply his people with ale, boost his popularity and raise taxes. Bread will also be produced by his large number of bakeries and is the main diet of his population, with enough bread being produced that some can be sold at the market for gold. The Emir also likes to boost his troop morale and gain popularity with the help of good things. Like Saladin, he can generate a lot of gold very quickly, which he needs to fund his large and expensive armies. However, if he does run out of gold, it is rarely a problem for him because of his high production of all the raw materials, meaning he usually has something to sell. Offense The Emir is a fearsome attacker who will yield a large number of troops and will often do so fairly quickly because of his good economy. This tactic makes him a potent rushing opponent. His offensive armies will be composed of horse archers and Arabian swordsmen supported by up to three catapults. European archers will also be brought if the enemy has a moat. His siege armies are a force to be reckoned with, considering the fact that the Emir's troops almost always have a +25% combat bonus. Often, he likes to gather up a large force of Arab swordsmen and sends it without care to destroy enemy structures. At the start of the game, if he has enough starting gold, he may attempt to rush a player by sending these directly to an enemy's keep. When high on finances, the Emir will send catapults and fire ballistae to destroy enemy buildings and units on the way. Defense The Emir constructs medium to large-sized octagonal castles that are well defended, good things are available to cover the entire population. Many buildings are left outside, but the whole city is situated inside. Fortifications consist of walls, Lookout Towers and Round Towers. He will also generously use engineers armed with boiling oil from a smelter to bolster the defenses of his castle alongside Arabian bowmen and surprisingly, European archers. The Emir uses no traps at all, but the presence of a mangonel creates sufficient danger for invading armies. He sends out a good force of Arabian bowmen and swordsmen when under attack. If under siege by a large force, and if he has enough gold, he won't hesitate to dismiss his workers from his bakeries and mills (buying in food when needed) and use the resulting peasants to quickly create a lot of soldiers to defend his castle. Castles AIEmir1.png|1. "Large 7-Towers" Castle AIEmir2.png|2. "Small 7-Towers" Castle AIEmir3.png|3. "Large 4-Towers" Castle How to deal with Offense Early in the game you will need to hire some crossbowmen for your keep as the Emir, especially if he has high starting gold, likes to send a large force of Arabian swordsmen to enemy castles to try and rush them. Make sure you keep a good number of crossbowmen near your farms and outlying buildings throughout the game to stop them from being targeted by large groups of Arabian swordsmen. The Emir packs a punch in his main attacks. Although he uses a good variety of troops, his troops are quite vulnerable to missile fire. They have little defence against crossbow bolts in particular. So have a good number of crossbowmen on walls and towers ready to retaliate and kill off the large number of horse archers the Emir sends. They also have some armour so will take little damage from the enemy horse archers compared with normal archers. The Arabian swordsmen he sends are even more vulnerable to crossbow bolts as they are slow moving. The Emir's catapults can be annoying but these can be destroyed using tower mounted ballistae. Macemen or knights may be required to sally out and kill some of his horse archers if he is doing particularly well and brings enough in his attacks to pose a threat to tower mounted crossbowmen and archers. Defense Crippling the Emir's economy is hard, and his castle is also not the easiest to besiege. You must therefore afford to bring siege engines because of the multiple round towers and numerous defenders. Catapults are effective here, although it takes quite a time to create a breach and break in. Instead, bring a mass force of fire ballistae and melee units. Work your way inch by inch to the enemy perimeter, and pick off units out of range. Do not worry about mangonels, as they deal very small damage on a single ballista, so just move in and remove them with ease. Keep some units close (but not under mangonel fire) in case some Arabian swordsmen would get close to your location. When a part of the castle is cleared, set buildings ablaze within the walls and watch the inferno. When most buildings are destroyed, move in with your troops (create a breach first) and kill the Lord. Alternatively, if you can afford it, a large number of horse archers (100 to 150 depending on how many troops the Emir has) circling around the outside of his castle will prove very effective, as the Emir will not be able to replace his fallen troops quickly enough under such an intense rain of arrows. Once all his troops are dead, 20 assassins should be more than enough to kill the lord. Quotes For the Emir's quotes see:'' Quotes:The Emir'' Navigation Category:Characters